第44章
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  ……AgainIsay,donothateme。Everyoursmosttruly,C。DARWIN。

  CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。

  1CarltonTerrace,Southampton(ThehouseofhissonWilliam。),August22,[1862]……Iheartilyhopethatyou(I。e。’TheAntiquityofMan。’)willbeoutinOctober……yousaythattheBishopandOwenwillbedownonyou;thelatterhardlycan,forIwasassuredthatOweninhisLecturesthisspringadvancedasanewideathatwinglessbirdshadlosttheirwingsbydisuse,alsothatmagpiesstolespoons,etc。,fromaREMNANTofsomeinstinctlikethatoftheBower—Bird,whichornamentsitsplaying—passagewithprettyfeathers。Indeed,Iamtoldthathehintedplainlythatallbirdsaredescendedfromone……

  YourP。S。toucheson,asitseemstome,verydifficultpoints。Iamgladtosee[that]inthe’Origin,’Ionlysaythatthenaturalistsgenerallyconsiderthatloworganismsvarymorethanhigh;andthisIthinkcertainlyisthegeneralopinion。IputthestatementthiswaytoshowthatI

  considereditonlyanopinionprobablytrue。ImustownthatIdonotatalltrustevenHooker’scontraryopinion,asIfeelprettysurethathehasnottabulatedanyresult。Ihavesomematerialsathome,IthinkI

  attemptedtomakethispointout,butcannotremembertheresult。

  Merevariability,thoughthenecessaryfoundationofallmodifications,I

  believetobealmostalwayspresent,enoughtoallowofanyamountofselectedchange;sothatitdoesnotseemtomeatallincompatiblethatagroupwhichatanyoneperiod(orduringallsuccessiveperiods)variesless,shouldinthelongcourseoftimehaveundergonemoremodificationthanagroupwhichisgenerallymorevariable。

  Placentalanimals,e。g。mightbeateachperiodlessvariablethanMarsupials,andneverthelesshaveundergonemoreDIFFERENTIATIONanddevelopmentthanmarsupials,owingtosomeadvantage,probablybraindevelopment。

  Iamsurprised,butdonotpretendtoformanopinionatHooker’sstatementthathigherspecies,genera,etc。,arebestlimited。Itseemstomeaboldstatement。

  Lookingtothe’Origin,’IseethatIstatethattheproductionsofthelandseemtochangequickerthanthoseofthesea(ChapterX。,page339,3dedition),andIaddthereissomereasontobelievethatorganismsconsideredhighinthescalechangequickerthanthosethatarelow。I

  rememberwritingthesesentencesaftermuchdeliberation……IrememberwellfeelingmuchhesitationaboutputtingineventheguardedsentenceswhichI

  did。Mydoubts,Iremember,relatedtotherateofchangeoftheRadiataintheSecondaryformation,andoftheForaminiferaintheoldestTertiarybeds……

  Goodnight,C。DARWIN。

  CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。

  Down,October1[1862]……Ifoundhere(OnhisreturnfromBournemouth。)ashortandverykindnoteofFalconer,withsomepagesofhis’ElephantMemoir,’whichwillbepublished,inwhichhetreatsadmirablyonlongpersistenceoftype。I

  thoughthewasgoingtomakeagoodandcrushingattackonme,buttomygreatsatisfaction,heendsbypointingoutaloophole,andadds(Falconer,\"OntheAmericanFossilElephant,\"inthe’Nat。Hist。Review,’1863,page81。Thewordsprecedingthosecitedbymyfathermakethemeaningofhisquotationclearer。Thepassagebeginsasfollows:\"TheinferenceswhichI

  drawfromthesefactsarenotopposedtooneoftheleadingpropositionsofDarwin’stheory。Withhim,\"etc。etc。)\"withhimIhavenofaiththatthemammothandotherextinctelephantsmadetheirappearancesuddenly……Themostrationalviewseemstobethattheyarethemodifieddescendantsofearlierprogenitors,etc。\"Thisiscapital。Therewillnotbesoononegoodpalaeontologistwhobelievesinimmutability。FalconerdoesnotallowfortheProboscideangroupbeingafailingone,andthereforenotlikelytobegivingoffnewraces。

  HeaddsthathedoesnotthinkNaturalSelectionsuffices。Idonotquiteseetheforceofhisargument,andheapparentlyoverlooksthatIsayoverandoveragainthatNaturalSelectioncandonothingwithoutvariability,andthatvariabilityissubjecttothemostcomplexfixedlaws……

  [InhisletterstoSirJ。D。Hooker,abouttheendofthisyear,areoccasionalnotesontheprogressofthe’VariationofAnimalsandPlants。’

  ThusonNovember24thhewrote:\"IhardlyknowwhyIamalittlesorry,butmypresentworkisleadingmetobelieverathermoreinthedirectactionofphysicalconditions。IpresumeIregretit,becauseitlessensthegloryofnaturalselection,andissoconfoundedlydoubtful。PerhapsI

  shallchangeagainwhenIgetallmyfactsunderonepointofview,andaprettyhardjobthiswillbe。\"

  Again,onDecember22nd,\"To—dayIhavebeguntothinkofarrangingmyconcludingchaptersonInheritance,Reversion,Selection,andsuchthings,andamfairlyparalyzedhowtobeginandhowtoend,andwhattodo,withmyhugepilesofmaterials。\"]

  CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。

  Down,November6[1862]。

  MydearGray,WhenyournoteofOctober4thand13th(chieflyaboutMaxMuller)arrived,Iwasnearlyattheendofthesamebook(’LecturesontheScienceofLanguage,’1stedition1861。),andhadintendedrecommendingyoutoreadit。Iquiteagreethatitisextremelyinteresting,butthelatterpartabouttheFIRSToriginoflanguagemuchtheleastsatisfactory。Itisamarvellousproblem……[Thereare]covertsneersatme,whichheseemstogetthebetteroftowardsthecloseofthebook。Icannotquiteseehowitwillforward\"mycause,\"asyoucallit;butIcanseehowanyonewithliterarytalent(Idonotfeeluptoit)couldmakegreatuseofthesubjectinillustration。(LanguagewastreatedinthemannerhereindicatedbySirC。Lyellinthe’AntiquityofMan。’AlsobyProf。

  Schleicher,whosepamphletwasfullynoticedinthe\"Reader\",February27,1864(asIlearnfromoneofProf。Huxley’s’LaySermons’)。)Whatprettymetaphorsyouwouldmakefromit!Iwishsomeonewouldkeepalotofthemostnoisymonkeys,halffree,andstudytheirmeansofcommunication!

  Abookhasjustappearedherewhichwill,Isuppose,makeanoise,byBishopColenso(’ThePentateuchandBookofJoshuacriticallyexamined,’

  sixparts,1862—71。),who,judgingfromextracts,smashesmostoftheOldtestament。Talkingofbooks,Iaminthemiddleofonewhichpleasesme,thoughitisveryinnocentfood,viz。,MissCoopers’JournalofaNaturalist。’Whoisshe?Sheseemsaverycleverwoman,andgivesacapitalaccountofthebattlebetweenOURandYOURweeds。DoesitnothurtyourYankeepridethatwethrashyousoconfoundedly?IamsureMrs。Graywillstickupforyourownweeds。Askherwhethertheyarenotmorehonest,downrightgoodsortofweeds。Thebookgivesanextremelyprettypictureofoneofyourvillages;butIseeyourautumn,thoughsomuchmoregorgeousthanours,comesonsooner,andthatisonecomfort……

  CHARLESDARWINTOH。W。BATES。

  Down,November20[1862]。

  DearBates,Ihavejustfinished,afterseveralreads,yourpaper。(ThisreferstoMr。

  Bates’spaper,\"ContributionstoanInsectFaunaoftheAmazonsValley\"

  (’Linn。Soc。Trans。’xxiii。,1862),inwhichthenowfamiliarsubjectofmimicrywasfounded。Myfatherwroteashortreviewofitinthe’NaturalHistoryReview,’1863,page219,partsofwhichoccurinthisreviewalmostverbatiminthelatereditionsofthe’OriginofSpecies。’Astrikingpassageoccursshowingthedifficultiesofthecasefromacreationist’spointofview:——

  \"Bywhatmeans,itmaybeasked,havesomanybutterfliesoftheAmazonianregionacquiredtheirdeceptivedress?Mostnaturalistswillanswerthattheywerethusclothedfromthehouroftheircreation——ananswerwhichwillgenerallybesofartriumphantthatitcanbemetonlybylong—drawnarguments;butitismadeattheexpenseofputtinganeffectualbartoallfurtherenquiry。Inthisparticularcase,moreover,thecreationistwillmeetwithspecialdifficulties;formanyofthemimickingformsofLeptaliscanbeshownbyagraduatedseriestobemerelyvarietiesofonespecies;

  othermimickersareundoubtedlydistinctspecies,orevendistinctgenera。

  Soagain,someofthemimickedformscanbeshowntobemerelyvarieties;

  butthegreaternumbermustberankedasdistinctspecies。Hencethecreationistwillhavetoadmitthatsomeoftheseformshavebecomeimitators,bymeansofthelawsofvariation,whilstothershemustlookatasseparatelycreatedundertheirpresentguise;hewillfurtherhavetoadmitthatsomehavebeencreatedinimitationofformsnotthemselvescreatedaswenowseethem,butduetothelawsofvariation?Prof。

  Agassiz,indeed,wouldthinknothingofthisdifficulty;forhebelievesthatnotonlyeachspeciesandeachvariety,butthatgroupsofindividuals,thoughidenticallythesame,wheninhabitingdistinctcountries,havebeenallseparatelycreatedindueproportionalnumberstothewantsofeachland。Notmanynaturalistswillbecontentthustobelievethatvarietiesandindividualshavebeenturnedoutallreadymade,almostasamanufacturerturnsouttoysaccordingtothetemporarydemandofthemarket。\")InmyopinionitisoneofthemostremarkableandadmirablepapersIeverreadinmylife。Themimeticcasesaretrulymarvellous,andyouconnectexcellentlyahostofanalogousfacts。Theillustrationsarebeautiful,andseemverywellchosen;butitwouldhavesavedthereadernotalittletrouble,ifthenameofeachhadbeenengravedbeloweachseparatefigure。Nodoubtthiswouldhaveputtheengraverintofits,asitwouldhavedestroyedthebeautyoftheplate。I

  amnotatallsurprisedatsuchapaperhavingconsumedmuchtime。IamrejoicedthatIpassedoverthewholesubjectinthe’Origin,’forIshouldhavemadeapreciousmessofit。Youhavemostclearlystatedandsolvedawonderfulproblem。Nodoubtwithmostpeoplethiswillbethecreamofthepaper;butIamnotsurethatallyourfactsandreasoningsonvariation,andonthesegregationofcompleteandsemi—completespecies,isnotreallymore,oratleastasvaluable,apart。Ineverconceivedtheprocessnearlysoclearlybefore;onefeelspresentatthecreationofnewforms。

  Iwish,however,youhadenlargedalittlemoreonthepairingofsimilarvarieties;arathermorenumerousbodyoffactsseemsherewanted。Then,again,whatahostofcuriousmiscellaneousobservationsthereare——asonrelatedsexualandindividualvariability:thesewillsomeday,ifIlive,beatreasuretome。

  Withrespecttomimeticresemblancebeingsocommonwithinsects,doyounotthinkitmaybeconnectedwiththeirsmallsize;theycannotdefendthemselves;theycannotescapebyflight,atleast,frombirds,thereforetheyescapebytrickeryanddeception?

  Ihaveoneseriouscriticismtomake,andthatisaboutthetitleofthepaper;Icannotbutthinkthatyououghttohavecalledprominentattentioninittothemimeticresemblances。Yourpaperistoogoodtobelargelyappreciatedbythemobofnaturalistswithoutsouls;but,relyonit,thatitwillhaveLASTINGvalue,andIcordiallycongratulateyouonyourfirstgreatwork。Youwillfind,Ishouldthink,thatWallacewillfullyappreciateit。Howgetsonyourbook?Keepyourspiritsup。Abookisnolightlabour。Ihavebeenbetterlately,andworkinghard,butmyhealthisveryindifferent。Howisyourhealth?Believeme,dearBates,Yoursverysincerely,C。DARWIN。

  CHAPTER2。IV。

  THESPREADOFEVOLUTION。

  ’VARIATIONOFANIMALSANDPLANTS’

  1863—1866。

  [Hisbookonanimalsandplantsunderdomesticationwasmyfather’schiefemploymentintheyear1863。Hisdiaryrecordsthelengthoftimespentoverthecompositionofitschapters,andshowstherateatwhichhearrangedandwroteoutforprintingtheobservationsanddeductionsofseveralyears。

  Thethreechaptersinvolumeii。oninheritance,whichoccupy84pagesofprint,werebeguninJanuaryandfinishedonApril1st;thefiveoncrossing,making106pages,werewrittenineightweeks,whilethetwochaptersonselection,covering57pages,werebegunonJune16thandfinishedonJuly20th。

  Theworkwasmorethanonceinterruptedbyillhealth,andinSeptember,whatprovedtobethebeginningofasixmonth’sillness,forcedhimtoleavehomeforthewater—cureatMalvern。HereturnedinOctoberandremainedillanddepressed,inspiteofthehopefulopinionofoneofthemostcheeryandskilfulphysiciansoftheday。ThushewrotetoSirJ。D。

  HookerinNovember:——

  \"Dr。Brintonhasbeenhere(recommendedbyBusk);hedoesnotbelievemybrainorheartareprimarilyaffected,butIhavebeensosteadilygoingdownhill,IcannothelpdoubtingwhetherIcanevercrawlalittleuphillagain。UnlessIcan,enoughtoworkalittle,Ihopemylifemaybeveryshort,fortolieonasofaalldayanddonothingbutgivetroubletothebestandkindestofwivesandgooddearchildrenisdreadful。\"

  Theminorworksinthisyearwereashortpaperinthe’NaturalHistoryReview’(N。S。vol。iii。page115),entitled\"Ontheso—called’Auditory—

  Sac’ofCirripedes,\"andoneinthe’GeologicalSociety’sJournal’(vol。

  xix),onthe\"ThicknessofthePampaeanFormationnearBuenosAyres。\"ThepaperonCirripedeswascalledforthbythecriticismsofaGermannaturalistKrohn(Krohnstatedthatthestructuresdescribedbymyfatherasovarieswereinrealitysalivaryglands,alsothattheoviductrunsdowntotheorificedescribedinthe’MonographoftheCirripedia’astheauditorymeatus。),andisofsomeinterestinillustrationofmyfather’sreadinesstoadmitanerror。

  WithregardtothespreadofabeliefinEvolution,itcouldnotyetbesaidthatthebattlewaswon,butthegrowthofbeliefwasundoubtedlyrapid。Sothat,forinstance,CharlesKingsleycouldwritetoF。D。Maurice(Kingsley’s’Life,’ii,page171。):

  \"Thestateofthescientificmindismostcurious;Darwinisconqueringeverywhere,andrushinginlikeaflood,bythemereforceoftruthandfact。\"

  Mr。Huxleywasasusualactiveinguidingandstimulatingthegrowingtendencytotolerateoraccepttheviewssetforthinthe’OriginofSpecies。’HegaveaseriesoflecturestoworkingmenattheSchoolofMinesinNovember,1862。Thesewereprintedin1863fromtheshorthandnotesofMr。May,assixlittlebluebooks,price4penceeach,underthetitle,’OurKnowledgeoftheCausesofOrganicNature。’Whenpublishedtheywerereadwithinterestbymyfather,whothusreferstotheminalettertoSirJ。D。Hooker:——

  \"IamverygladyoulikeHuxley’slectures。Ihavebeenverymuchstruckwiththem,especiallywiththe’PhilosophyofInduction。’IhavequarrelledwithhimforoverdoingsterilityandignoringcasesfromGartnerandKolreuteraboutsterilevarieties。HisGeologyisobscure;andI

  ratherdoubtaboutman’smindandlanguage。ButitseemstomeADMIRABLY

  done,and,asyousay,\"Ohmy,\"aboutthepraiseofthe’Origin。’Ican’thelplikingit,whichmakesmeratherashamedofmyself。\"

  Myfatheradmiredtheclearnessofexpositionshowninthelectures,andinthefollowingletterurgestheirauthortomakeuseofhispowersfortheadvantageofstudents:]

  CHARLESDARWINTOT。H。HUXLEY。

  November5[1864]。

  Iwanttomakeasuggestiontoyou,butwhichmayprobablyhaveoccurredtoyou。——wasreadingyourLecturesandendedbysaying,\"Iwishhewouldwriteabook。\"Ianswered,\"hehasjustwrittenagreatbookontheskull。\"\"Idon’tcallthatabook,\"shereplied,andadded,\"Iwantsomethingthatpeoplecanread;hedoeswritesowell。\"Now,withyoureaseinwriting,andwithknowledgeatyourfingers’ends,doyounotthinkyoucouldwriteapopularTreatiseonZoology?Ofcourseitwouldbesomewasteoftime,butIhavebeenaskedmorethanadozentimestorecommendsomethingforabeginnerandcouldonlythinkofCarpenter’sZoology。IamsurethatastrikingTreatisewoulddorealservicetosciencebyeducatingnaturalists。Ifyouweretokeepaportfolioopenforacoupleofyears,andthrowinslipsofpaperassubjectscrossedyourmind,youwouldsoonhaveaskeleton(andthatseemstomethedifficulty)onwhichtoputthefleshandcoloursinyourinimitablemanner。Ibelievesuchabookmighthaveabrilliantsuccess,butIdidnotintendtoscribblesomuchaboutit。

  GivemykindestremembrancetoMrs。Huxley,andtellherIwaslookingat’EnochArden,’andasIknowhowsheadmiresTennyson,Imustcallherattentiontotwosweetlyprettylines(page105)……andhemeant,hesaidhemeant,Perhapshemeant,orpartlymeant,youwell。

  Suchagemasthisisenoughtomakemeyoungagain,andlikepoetrywithpristinefervour。

  MydearHuxley,Yoursaffectionately,CH。DARWIN。

  [Inanotherletter(January1865)hereturnstotheabovesuggestion,thoughhewasingeneralstronglyopposedtomenofsciencegivinguptothewritingoftext—books,ortoteaching,thetimethatmightotherwisehavebeengiventooriginalresearch。

  \"IknewtherewasverylittlechanceofyourhavingtimetowriteapopularTreatiseonZoology,butyouareabouttheonemanwhocoulddoit。AtthetimeIfeltitwouldbealmostasinforyoutodoit,asitwouldofcoursedestroysomeoriginalwork。OntheotherhandIsometimesthinkthatgeneralandpopulartreatisesarealmostasimportantfortheprogressofscienceasoriginalwork。\"

  Theseriesofletterswillcontinuethehistoryoftheyear1863。]

  CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。

  Down,January3[1863]。

  MydearHooker,Iamburningwithindignationandmustexhale……Icouldnotgettosleeptillpast3lastnightforindignation(ItwouldservenousefulpurposeifIweretogointothematterwhichsostronglyrousedmyfather’sanger。

  Itwasaquestionofliterarydishonesty,inwhichafriendwasthesufferer,butwhichinnowayaffectedhimself。)……

  Nowforpleasantersubjects;wewereallamusedatyourdefenceofstampcollectingandcollectinggenerally……But,byJove,Icanhardlystomachagrownmancollectingstamps。WhowouldeverhavethoughtofyourcollectingWedgwoodware!butthatiswhollydifferent,likeengravingsorpictures。WearedegeneratedescendantsofoldJosiahW。,forwehavenotabitofprettywareinthehouse……Notwithstandingtheverypleasantreasonyougiveforournotenjoyingaholiday,namely,thatwehavenovices,itisahorridbore。Ihavebeentryingforhealth’ssaketobeidle,withnosuccess。WhatIshallnowhavetodo,willbetoerectatabletinDownChurch,\"SacredtotheMemory,etc。,\"andofficiallydie,andthenpublishbooks,\"bythelateCharlesDarwin,\"forIcannotthinkwhathascomeovermeoflate;Ialwayssufferedfromtheexcitementoftalking,butnowithasbecomeludicrous。

  Italkedlately11/2hours(brokenbyteabymyself)withmynephew,andI

  was[ill]halfthenight。Itisafearfulevilforselfandfamily。

  Good—night。Everyours。

  C。DARWIN。

  [ThefollowinglettertoSirJuliusvonHaast(SirJuliusvonHaastwasaGermanbybirth,buthadlongbeenresidentinNewZealand。Hewas,in1862,GovernmentGeologisttotheProvinceofCanterbury。),isanexampleofthesympathywhichhefeltwiththespreadandgrowthofscienceinthecolonies。Itwasafeelingnotexpressedonceonly,butwasfrequentlypresentinhismind,andoftenfoundutterance。Whenwe,atCambridge,hadthesatisfactionofreceivingSirJ。vonHaastintoourbodyasaDoctorofScience(July1886),Ihadtheopportunityofhearingfromhimofthevividpleasurewhichthis,andotherlettersfrommyfather,gavehim。Itwaspleasanttoseehowstronghadbeentheimpressionmadebymyfather’swarm—heartedsympathy——animpressionwhichseemed,aftermorethantwentyyears,tobeasfreshaswhenitwasfirstreceived:]

  CHARLESDARWINTOJULIUSVONHAAST。

  Down,January22[1863]。

  DearSir,IthankyoumostsincerelyforsendingmeyourAddressandtheGeologicalReport。(Addresstothe’PhilosophicalInstituteofCanterbury(N。Z。)。’

  The\"Report\"isgivenin\"TheNewZealandGovernmentGazette,ProvinceofCanterbury\",October1862。)Ihaveseldominmylifereadanythingmorespiritedandinterestingthanyouraddress。Theprogressofyourcolonymakesoneproud,anditisreallyadmirabletoseeascientificinstitutionfoundedinsoyounganation。Ithankyoufortheveryhonourablenoticeofmy’OriginofSpecies。’YouwilleasilybelievehowmuchIhavebeeninterestedbyyourstrikingfactsontheoldglacialperiod,andIsupposetheworldmightbesearchedinvainforsograndadisplayofterraces。

  Youhave,indeed,anoblefieldforscientificresearchanddiscovery。I

  havebeenextremelymuchinterestedbywhatyousayaboutthetracksofsupposed[living]mammalia。MightIask,ifyousucceedindiscoveringwhatthecreaturesare,youwouldhavethegreatkindnesstoinformme?

  PerhapstheymayturnoutsomethingliketheSolenhofenbirdcreature,withitslongtailandfingers,withclawstoitswings!ImaymentionthatinSouthAmerica,incompletelyuninhabitedregions,Ifoundspringrat—traps,baitedwithCHEESE,wereverysuccessfulincatchingthesmallermammals。

  IwouldventuretosuggesttoyoutourgeonsomeofthecapablemembersofyourinstitutiontoobserveannuallytherateandmannerofspreadingofEuropeanweedsandinsects,andespeciallytoobserveWHATNATIVEPLANTS

  MOSTFAIL;thislatterpointhasneverbeenattendedto。Dotheintroducedhive—beesreplaceanyotherinsect?etc。Allsuchpointsare,inmyopinion,greatdesideratainscience。Whataninterestingdiscoverythatoftheremainsofprehistoricman!

  Believeme,dearSir,Withthemostcordialrespectandthanks,Yoursveryfaithfully,CHARLESDARWIN。

  CHARLESDARWINTOCAMILLEDARESTE。(ProfessorDaresteisawell—knownworkerinAnimalTeratology。Hewasin1863livingatLille,buthassincethenbeencalledtoParis。MyfathertookaspecialinterestinDareste’sworkontheproductionofmonsters,asbearingonthecausesofvariation。)

  Down,February16[1863]。

  DearandrespectedSir,Ithankyousincerelyforyourletterandyourpamphlet。Ihadheard(I

  thinkinoneofM。Quatrefages’books)ofyourwork,andwasmostanxioustoreadit,butdidnotknowwheretofindit。Youcouldnothavemademeamorevaluablepresent。Ihaveonlyjustreturnedhome,andhavenotyetreadyourwork;whenIdoifIwishtoaskanyquestionsIwillventuretotroubleyou。YourapprobationofmybookonSpecieshasgratifiedmeextremely。SeveralnaturalistsinEngland,NorthAmerica,andGermany,havedeclaredthattheiropinionsonthesubjecthaveinsomedegreebeenmodified,butasfarasIknow,mybookhasproducednoeffectwhateverinFrance,andthismakesmethemoregratifiedbyyourverykindexpressionofapprobation。Praybelieveme,dearSir,withmuchrespect,Yoursfaithfullyandobliged,CH。DARWIN。

  CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。

  Down,February24[1863]。

  MydearHooker,Iamastonishedatyournote,Ihavenotseenthe\"Athenaeum\"(Inthe’AntiquityofMan,’firstedition,page480,LyellcriticisedsomewhatseverelyOwen’saccountofthedifferencebetweentheHumanandSimianbrains。Thenumberofthe\"Athenaeum\"herereferredto(1863,page262)

  containsareplybyProfessorOwentoLyell’sstrictures。Thesurpriseexpressedbymyfatherwasattherevivalofacontroversywhicheveryonebelievedtobeclosed。Prof。Huxley(\"MedicalTimes\",October25,1862,quotedin’Man’sPlaceinNature,’page117)spokeofthe\"twoyearsduringwhichthispreposterouscontroversyhasdraggeditswearylength。\"Andthisnodoubtexpressedaverygeneralfeeling。)butIhavesentforit,andmaygetitto—morrow;andwillthensaywhatIthink。

  IhavereadLyell’sbook。[’TheAntiquityofMan。’]thewholecertaintystruckmeasacompilation,butofthehighestclass,forwhenpossiblethefactshavebeenverifiedonthespot,makingitalmostanoriginalwork。

  TheGlacialchaptersseemtomebest,andinpartsmagnificent。IcouldhardlyjudgeaboutMan,asalltheglossofnoveltywascompletelywornoff。Butcertainlytheaggregationoftheevidenceproducedaverystrikingeffectonmymind。Thechaptercomparinglanguageandchangesofspecies,seemsmostingeniousandinteresting。Hehasshowngreatskillinpickingoutsalientpointsintheargumentforchangeofspecies;butIamdeeplydisappointed(Idonotmeanpersonally)tofindthathistimiditypreventshimgivinganyjudgment……FromallmycommunicationswithhimI

  musteverthinkthathehasreallyentirelylostfaithintheimmutabilityofspecies;andyetoneofhisstrongestsentencesisnearlyasfollows:

  \"IfitshouldEVER(TheitalicsarenotLyell’s。)berenderedhighlyprobablethatspecieschangebyvariationandnaturalselection,\"etc。,etc。Ihadhopedhewouldhaveguidedthepublicasfarashisownbeliefwent……Onethingdoespleasemeonthissubject,thatheseemstoappreciateyourwork。NodoubtthepublicorapartmaybeinducedtothinkthatashegivestousalargerspacethantoLamarck,hemustthinkthereissomethinginourviews。Whenreadingthebrainchapter,itstruckmeforciblythatifhehadsaidopenlythathebelievedinchangeofspecies,andasaconsequencethatmanwasderivedfromsomeQuadrumanousanimal,itwouldhavebeenverypropertohavediscussedbycompilationthedifferencesinthemostimportantorgan,viz。thebrain。Asitis,thechapterseemstometocomeinratherbytheheadandshoulders。Idonotthink(butthenIamasprejudicedasFalconerandHuxley,ormoreso)thatitistoosevere;itstruckmeasgivenwithjudicialforce。Itmightperhapsbesaidwithtruththathehadnobusinesstojudgeonasubjectonwhichheknowsnothing;butcompilersmustdothistoacertainextent。

  (YouknowIvalueandrankhighcompilers,beingonemyself!)Ihavetakenyouatyourword,andscribbledatgreatlength。IfIgetthe\"Athenaeum\"

  to—morrow,IwilladdmyimpressionofOwen’sletter……TheLyellsarecominghereonSundayeveningtostaytillWednesday。I

  dreadit,butImustsayhowmuchdisappointedIamthathehasnotspokenoutonspecies,stilllessonman。Andthebestofthejokeisthathethinkshehasactedwiththecourageofamartyrofold。IhopeImayhavetakenanexaggeratedviewofhistimidity,andshallPARTICULARLYbegladofyouropiniononthishead。(OnthissubjectmyfatherwrotetoSirJosephHooker:\"CordialthanksforyourdeeplyinterestinglettersaboutLyell,Owen,andCo。IcannotsayhowgladIamtohearthatIhavenotbeenunjustaboutthespecies—questiontowardsLyell。IfearedIhadbeenunreasonable。\")WhenIgothisbookIturnedoverthepages,andsawhehaddiscussedthesubjectofspecies,andsaidthatIthoughthewoulddomoretoconvertthepublicthanallofus,andnow(whichmakesthecaseworseforme)Imust,incommonhonesty,retract。IwishtoHeavenhehadsaidnotawordonthesubject。

  WEDNESDAYMORNING:

  Ihavereadthe\"Athenaeum\"。IdonotthinkLyellwillbenearlysomuchannoyedasyouexpect。Theconcludingsentenceisnodoubtverystinging。

  NoonebutagoodanatomistcouldunravelOwen’sletter;atleastitisquitebeyondme……Lyell’smemoryplayshimfalsewhenhesaysallanatomistswereastonishedatOwen’spaper(\"OntheCharacters,etc。,oftheClassMammalia。\"’Linn。Soc。Journal,’ii,1858。);itwasoftenquotedwithapprobation。IWELLrememberLyell’sadmirationatthisnewclassification!(Donotrepeatthis。)Irememberit,because,thoughI

  knewnothingwhateveraboutthebrain,Ifeltaconvictionthataclassificationthusfoundedonasinglecharacterwouldbreakdown,anditseemedtomeagreaterrornottoseparatemorecompletelytheMarsupialia……

  Whatanaccursedevilitisthatthereshouldbeallthisquarrellingwithin,whatoughttobe,thepeacefulrealmsofscience。Iwillgotomyownpresentsubjectofinheritanceandforgetitallforatime。Farewell,mydearoldfriend,C。DARWIN。

  CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。

  Down,February23[1863]……IfyouhavetimetoreadyouwillbeinterestedbypartsofLyell’sbookonman;butIfearthatthebestpart,abouttheGlacialperiod,maybetoogeologicalforanyoneexceptaregulargeologist。Hequotesyouattheendwithgusto。Bytheway,hetoldmetheotherdayhowpleasedsomehadbeenbyhearingthattheycouldpurchaseyourpamphlet。The\"Parthenon\"

  alsospeaksofitastheablestcontributiontotheliteratureofthesubject。ItdelightsmewhenIseeyourworkappreciated。

  TheLyellscomeherethisdayweek,andIshallgrumbleathisexcessivecaution……Thepublicmaywellsay,ifsuchamandarenotorwillnotspeakouthismind,howcanwewhoareignorantformevenaguessonthesubject?

  LyellwaspleasedwhenItoldhimlatelythatyouthoughtthatlanguagemightbeusedasanexcellentillustrationofderivationofspecies;youwillseethathehasanADMIRABLEchapteronthis……

  IreadCairns’sexcellentLecture(Prof。J。E。Cairns,’TheSlavePower,etc。:anattempttoexplaintherealissuesinvolvedintheAmericancontest。’1862。),whichshowssowellhowyourquarrelarosefromSlavery。

  ItmademeforatimewishhonestlyfortheNorth;butIcouldneverhelp,thoughItried,allthetimethinkinghowweshouldbebulliedandforcedintoawarbyyou,whenyouweretriumphant。ButIdomosttrulythinkitdreadfulthattheSouth,withitsaccursedslavery,shouldtriumph,andspreadtheevil。IthinkifIhadpower,whichthankGod,Ihavenot,I

  wouldletyouconquertheborderStates,andallwestoftheMississippi,andthenforceyoutoacknowledgethecottonStates。Fordoyounotnowbegintodoubtwhetheryoucanconquerandholdthem?Ihaveinflictedalongtiradeonyou。

  \"TheTimes\"isgettingmoredetestable(butthatistooweakaword)thanever。Mygoodwifewishestogiveitup,butItellherthatisapitchofheroismtowhichonlyawomanisequal。Togiveupthe\"BloodyOld’Times’,\"asCobbettusedtocallit,wouldbetogiveupmeat,drinkandair。Farewell,mydearGray,Yoursmosttruly,C。DARWIN。

  CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。

  Down,March6,[1863]……Ihavebeenofcoursedeeplyinterestedbyyourbook。(’AntiquityofMan。’)Ihavehardlyanyremarksworthsending,butwillscribblealittleonwhatmostinterestedme。ButIwillfirstgetoutwhatIhatesaying,viz。,thatIhavebeengreatlydisappointedthatyouhavenotgivenjudgmentandspokenfairlyoutwhatyouthinkaboutthederivationofspecies。Ishouldhavebeencontentedifyouhadboldlysaidthatspecieshavenotbeenseparatelycreated,andhadthrownasmuchdoubtasyoulikeonhowfarvariationandnaturalselectionsuffices。IhopetoHeavenIamwrong(andfromwhatyousayaboutWhewellitseemsso),butIcannotseehowyourchapterscandomoregoodthananextraordinaryablereview。I

  thinkthe\"Parthenon\"isright,thatyouwillleavethepublicinafog。

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